To fall in Love with Courage
by Dr. William Bell
Summary: The events of "A very Digi Christmas" have left Tai hurt, lonely and lovesick. But what if the events of the Epilogue had happened differently? What if Tai confessed his feelings to Sora? Oneshot! Taiora. Hint of Takari.


**This was a one-shot I wrote for a dear friend for her birthday. Happy Birthday! I hope you like this!**

**I do not own Digimon. I do not own its characters either.**

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Tai was walking home. He wasn't out anywhere in particular. He just wanted to walk. He didn't want company, so he stayed out of the Digital World. Agumon would've insisted in walking with him. He loved the Digimon very much, but he just wanted to be alone right now. He needed to think about a lot of things. Mainly he thought about his future. What was he supposed to be? Soccer appealed to him, but is that what he wanted to do with the rest of his life? With growing interest of the real world into the digital one, he could maybe go into a field of liaison. After all, he was the Digidestined leader. He could 'lead' the real world and the digital world into a future of cooperation. After all, who knew what would happen? Would the digital world stay free like Gennai hoped? Tai could be there to find out.

Another thing that bothered him was whom he was going to spend his life with. He knew he didn't want to be alone. He was popular in high school, and all modesty aside, considered himself good-looking. He could probably get any single girl he wanted. But the only one he did want was taken. Her name was Sora Tachenouchi. They had been friends since they were three. They had a lot in common, like their love for soccer. But another thing was, was that they completed each other. Tai was stubborn and excited. Sora was cool-headed and calm. She knew just what to say to get him to think and reconsider things. This fact probably saved their lives in the Digital World. He couldn't have been happier when he found out she was with them in the Digital World on their first adventure. He knew that together they could defeat anything. And they did. It was hard, but eventually they succeeded. As time moved on, he realized he was in love with Sora.

He turned the corner and saw the subject of his thoughts. Sora sat at a bench in an outdoor café. He instantly felt warm when he saw her smile. She didn't see him of course, but he saw her. She looked as beautiful as ever. Her orange hair shined in the sunlight. Her eyes twinkled as tears fell from her eyes. Tai realized she was crying. Instinctively, he headed over in her direction. That's when he saw who she was sitting with. It was her boyfriend, and his friend Matt, another Digidestined. He was talking to her, looking sad himself. Tai wondered what was happening. Were they breaking up? Then she asked Matt a question, he nodded, and leaned in. They kissed. Tai immediately felt a pang of loss. He didn't know what he would give to be in Matt's position right about now. But she loved Matt, not him. He walked off, not wanting to witness the lovers any more. Thunder cracked overhead. A storm was beginning to take over the previously sunny day.

They had started dating around a year ago, right at Christmas Eve. That was when Tai had decided to make his move as well. He remembered it clearly:

_Flashback:_

_It was two hours before the concert began. The sun was beginning to set in the sky. It was Christmas, and the air was chilly. Tai rubbed his hands together and tried to gather confidence. He had been waiting to do this for three years. He wasn't going to blow it now. They were right outside the stage where Matt and his band were. Tai and Agumon were approaching Sora and Biyomon. Tai breathed in slowly and approached Sora. She had just been talking to Biyomon about something. Then Tai noticed the package. He instantly knew it was homemade cookies from the lingering smell. He breathed it in deeply._

_"Sora! Wait up!" He called. She turned to face him._

_"Oh Tai." She said, noticing him. She looked at her gift, and blushed, as if caught doing something bad._

_"Something smells good!" Agumon exclaimed as Gabumon opened the door in front of them._

_"Matt's busy getting ready. But I'll take those to him. Mmmm!" Gabumon said._

_"I'll bet you will, no way! You'll eat the whole thing yourself!" Biyomon said, indignantly._

_"Hey! I resent that! I'm on a diet!" Gabumon shot back. Tai decided then to ask his question._

_"So um, Sora, are you going to the concert with anybody? I mean, not that it matters to me . . . just wondering." He said, hoping._

_"No, I want to be available in case Matt is free afterwards." She said, with a nervous laugh. He was instantly crushed, but he couldn't show that. He decided to play it cool. But he could hear the disappointment and hurt in his voice._

_"Oh . . .I see. Matt huh?" She blushed, embarrassed. He walked towards her, and put his hand on her shoulder._

_"I-it's okay." He assured her._

_"You're not mad at me Tai?" She asked, confused._

_"No, of course not." He said, pushing her towards the door. "Now get in there and say hi to Matt for me." She turned to face him._

_"Thanks Tai." She said. Agumon stepped forward._

_"The least you can do is leave us the cookies!" Agumon exclaimed waving his arms about. She smiled at him._

_"Tell you what." She said, more to Tai than Agumon. "I'll make you some special ones for you." She said. She turned to go back into the building. He stared after her, his heart bleeding, threatening to show on his face._

_"I'll be waiting. Thanks." He said to no one in particular. Agumon looked up at him._

_"You know what Tai?" Agumon exclaimed._

"_What?" He asked numbly._

"_You have grown up." Agumon said. But he didn't know the conflicting emotions in Tai right then. Between letting Sora just be happy, and scooping her up in his arms and kissing her. But he could wait._

And a year and a half later, he was still waiting. Sora had hit it off with Matt, and they had stayed together since. Sometimes he thought about all the times he and Sora spent together. He remembered meeting her at school. She was a tomboy and they became best friends fast. They played soccer almost everyday, and shared secrets. He smiled as he remembered one of her birthdays, where he threw up in her hat. He was embarrassed, and didn't tell her. She put it on and the vomit went all over her. She was so angry at him.

Then came the Digital World. They spent time looking after each other, becoming even greater friends in the face of danger. Afterward, they still spent time together, though Tai remembered a special incident with a hair clip, which had made her mad beyond belief. He had sent her an apologetic email, accidentally signing it love. That was the first time he faced the prospect of liking her. Through the years, their relationship had grown, until he decided to tell her that one Christmas. That's when he realized that he loved her. No, he knew he had loved her. He knew it from the very beginning. He had not confessed to her so she can be happy. But what if she could love him? Tai stopped. It had begun to rain softly. Drops landed on his face and dripped down to the ground.

"_She does love me!" _Tai realized. _"Her happiness lies with me! It has to! I have to tell her!"_ He turned, and began to run. Sora and her had mom moved to a nice house in Odaiba. It was a long run from here. Tai passed the café where he had seen Matt and Sora earlier. He kept on running. They weren't sitting at the table anymore. He eventually made it to Sora's house, dripping wet. He walked up to the door and rang the doorbell. Rain continued to pour on him. He stepped back. He laughed to himself. All the fear he had was gone. He was courageous Tai now. Fearless Tai now. He saw a light turn on. The door opened, and Sora looked out.

"Tai! What are you doing in the rain?" Sora exclaimed. He took a breath. Here it came. This would define their relationship.

"Sora, I had to come. I had to tell you something!" He told her.

"What?" She asked.

"I realized that I love you Sora! I have always loved you, and will always love you! I know you're with Matt, but I had to tell you. I had to confess. I believe your happiness is with me, not him." Tai told her. She stared at him for a moment. She didn't say anything. She then walked outside in the rain. Her face was unreadable. She walked closer and closer. Then she took his hands.

"I'm sorry about coming between you and Matt, but I had to tell you." He told her, nervously.

"Matt and I saw each other today." She said softly. He nodded.

"I know; I saw you," he told her. She stared at him.

"We decided to break up." She continued. He stopped short.

"What? Why?" He breathed.

"Because, we realized that I'm in love with someone else." She said softly, moving closer.

"Who?" He asked, numbly.

"You stupid Tai." She said, smiling, and closed the distance between them. She kissed him, and he kissed back. Tai felt an enormous weight lifted from his shoulders. He realized she loved him too, and they could be happy together. They parted, and he smiled. Tears started to fall from his eyes.

"What's wrong Tai?" She asked. The rain fell on them both, drenching them. He smiled at her.

"I'm just happy this finally happened. I've been afraid for so long." He said.

"Afraid of what?" She asked.

"That you didn't love me back." Tai said simply. She smiled.

"I was afraid too. So afraid, I went and asked Matt out. That Christmas was so hard for me. I nearly broke down there." Sora said.

"It was hard for me too." Tai said. They kissed again. She pulled away.

"Come on in from the rain." She said. He smiled, and went with her inside. She found them towels and they sat together by Sora's fireplace, warming up. He put his arm around her. She cuddled close to him. He felt so warm and inviting. Tai smiled. Then a thought hit him.

"I thought I saw you kissing Matt today." Tai said. Sora smiled.

"You saw that?" She asked. He nodded. "Here's what happened . . .

'_Matt called me to the diner that day. I was happy to see him, but I was unhappy. I had went into that relationship for all the wrong reasons. I found that I didn't love him. I loved you. So we sat down. That's when he told me._

'"_Sora, I think it's time we broke up." He said. Sora looked at him._

"_What? Why?" she asked._

"_Why? Sora, I think you know. This relationship is not working out." Matt said sadly._

"_But Matt? I love you!" She said, but she knew she didn't. He shook his head._

"_You do, but I don't own your heart. It belongs to someone else." He said._

"_Who?" She asked._

"_Tai." He said simply. Tears went down her cheeks. She knew he was right. She didn't deny it. She didn't want to hurt him, but she knew he was right. _

"_I'm sorry." She said. He smiled, tears in his eyes. He got ready to leave._

"_Matt?" She asked. He looked at her._

"_Yes?" He asked._

"_Can I have one more kiss?" She asked. He nodded and kissed her._

"That's all that happened. I guess it was fate that brought us together on the same day Matt and I broke up." Sora said.

"We were meant to be together Sora." Tai said. She smiled, and he kissed her.

… … … … …

"…And that's how your mom and I fell in love." Tai said. It was twenty years later, and Tai had both of his children, a girl and a boy, in his lap. They looked up at her, the boy having his brown hair and eyes, and the girl having her red hair and smile. Sora sat across from them, smiling. Tai looked at her, his eyes twinkling. It had been a wonderful twenty years. They had enjoyed every minute of it. The boy looked up.

"Dad? Can you tell us about Aunt Kari and Uncle Takeru?" he said. Tai laughed. He opened his mouth to speak.

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**Please Review if you liked! I am planning on writing another Taiora, a Takari, and of course, continuing my fic, Light and Shadows: Resurrection. Thanks, and Happy Birthday Bri!**


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